


“Neither of you want to do as my boss wants, so I’ll keep hold of the girl until you do.”

by mylifeismediocre



Category: Emmerdale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 08:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14161311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylifeismediocre/pseuds/mylifeismediocre
Summary: Liv gets caught up in Robert's fight against Joe Tate.





	“Neither of you want to do as my boss wants, so I’ll keep hold of the girl until you do.”

With Liv at her mum’s for the Easter holidays, Aaron and Robert felt more relaxed, being able to bond with Seb, instead of chasing after the girl and all how destructive habits. However, it didn’t stop them missing her, worrying about her, wondering why she hadn’t called to let them know she had got to Dublin safely. They had tried to consider that Liv was forgetful, reckless, careless, and probably forgot, but she always had her phone in her hand, so why wasn’t she picking up?

With Robert cooking dinner, wearing the apron Chas bought him as a joke, Aaron took some much needed time catching up on Top Gear, looking over to where Seb was fast asleep in his crib, silently laughing to himself knowing the baby would absolutely love the show as well, something Robert and Rebecca would be annoyed about. But it was no secret that Aaron was Seb’s favourite person. Relaxing into the sofa, a bottle of beer in his hand, the man couldn’t help but think of the domesticated life he was living, something he never thought he would find.

With lasagne on a plate in his lap, and his husband and son by his side, Robert felt content, at peace, at home. Having Liv here would be the icing on the cake, but just like her brother, she had a habit of running away from all her problems, big or small. He couldn’t quite blame her, but he wished she trusted him the way she had when Aaron was in prison, but he knew he had to build that relationship back up. She was used to people leaving, she never expected them to come back, so he knew that this was difficult for her, but they’d get through it, slowly but surely.

Friday nights like this were what the boys had wished for. They had a family, people who they could sit around the TV with, have conversations at the dinner table, and have pointless arguments over whose turn it was to do the washing up, to do any of the chores, even, on the rota Robert had created, much to everyone’s dismay. With the clock striking 8pm, Robert moved from his place on the sofa to take Seb up to bed, leaving Aaron sat on the sofa, too engrossed in the TV to care he was alone.

And as the older man made his way back down the staircase, he couldn’t help but smile at his husband laughing at a stupid joke. In the lowlight of the mill, the vibrant colours from the TV dancing across Aaron’s face, lighting him up in a way that made Robert’s heart flutter, reminding him how much he was in love with this man, how much he wanted him, how much he needed him. This family he’d finally found left him feeling blessed, feeling like he finally belonged, feeling loved. Dropping beside his husband, he wrapped an arm around him, smiling as the younger man rested his head on his shoulder, watching the TV with soft smiles.

Aaron’s phone on the table, snapping them out of their happy daze, started ringing, Liv’s face flashing up on the screen, an annoying rhythm erupting from the phone causing Robert to scrunch his face up, his husband laughing before leaning forward, grabbing it and pressing it to his ear, muttering an annoyed ‘about time’, before properly answering the phone.

The line was silent, and for a minute Aaron thought he was going insane, wondering if he had just imagined the ringtone, but ended up resulting in shouting his sister’s name down the phone, before pulling it away from his ear, pressing the loud speaker button, hoping the echo in the room would intensify the call, Robert clearly annoyed at having to pause his show, wondering why Liv couldn’t have called during Top Gear.

But suddenly, they heard her, on the other end. It sounded like a muffled scream, something that immediately put them both on the edge of their seats, anxiety visible, legs bouncing up and down, fingernails between their teeth, hands in their hair, pulling at any threads they could find hanging off their own items of clothing. Aaron called for her again, hoping this was some prank that she was pulling, knowing she would be the kind of girl to terrify them like that, a reassurance on her part, knowing they cared.

“Aaron, I don’t know where I am.” They heard Liv say, still muffled, but louder, fear controlling her voice, the shake in her throat, and even though they couldn’t see her, they knew she was pushing her fingernails into the palm of her hands, enough to cause marks, enough to tear the flesh apart, blood trickling from the crescent moon shaped wounds. 

“Liv, can you hear me?” Aaron asked loudly, in that voice that he used whenever he was trying not to cry, clearly not wanting his little sister to hear the fear in his voice, not wanting to frighten her even more than she clearly was, something that she never tended to show in her day to day life, something she kept to herself, not wanting the whole world to see her weakness, convinced they’d use it against her in the long run.

“Yeah, I can hear you.” It sounded like she was in a car, wondering if this was a game, her mum at the wheel probably telling her to knock it off, but Aaron and Robert couldn’t help but stare at each other, hoping the other knew what was going on, hoping the other was in on whatever prank this was, neither letting themselves up, just letting the worry creep up their necks, taking over their features, taking over their minds.

“What do you mean you don’t know where you are? Are you off the plane?” Her brother asked, sounding frustrated, trying his best to conceal the sheer terror in his voice. She never rung whenever she was in a state. She tended to ride the anxiety attack out and then considered calling, something they told her was nothing she should be embarrassed about, but this was Liv, someone who felt humiliated whenever they had to wake her from a nightmare, trying to reassure her that the terror was beyond her control, so the fact she called sounding the way she did was enough to scare anybody.

“I never got on the plane. I made my way through security and someone grabbed me, and I think I’m in the back of his van.” She was whispering now, the sound of the vehicle moving coming to a halt, Aaron standing up, mouthing at Robert about phoning the police because someone had his sister, and this person wouldn’t be alive much longer if he got his hands on him. “Whoever it is, they’re coming.” 

They both heard the sound of doors open, both heard the sound of the breath escaping Liv’s lips, both heard the gulp, both heard the boots of someone walking towards her, heard the person grab her phone.

“Hello Aaron, how are you?” The deep, intense voice on the end of the line asked, causing the boys to try and remember where they’d heard it before, hating that Liv was caught up in their past mistakes, knowing that whoever this was had got to the one thing they knew would break Aaron, break Robert.

“Who is this? And why the fuck have you taken my little sister?” Aaron let his voice shout down the phone, wanting to sound intimidating, the anger taking over now, no longer anxious and terrified, but rather frustrated and desperate to kill the person on the other end of the line. He debated throwing his phone at the wall to let some of his built up temper out, but this was the only way to hold onto his sister, the only way to do whatever this guy wanted to get her back.

“Neither of you want to do as my boss wants, so I’ll keep hold of the girl until you do.” The man was provoking them, trying his best to get under their skin, trying their best to win at whatever sick game they were playing. But one thing the voice confirmed was that it involved both of them, the two putting puzzle pieces together, trying their best to figure out who they’d refused their service too, trying their best to figure out who would go this far. “She’s pretty, this one. We’ll definitely be having some fun.” 

Aaron and Robert had always felt protective of Liv, always wanting to keep her safe, in their eyesight, shielding her from the world. Never wanting her to meet a boy and fall in love, be out too late at night, drinking alcohol to ease the pain she was suffering with. They were protective, annoying her with their strict rules, not wanting her to experience the devastating things they had. But those feelings were different to what they were feeling now. Nothing but pure anger, their jokes about murdering those who ever came close to Liv were becoming true, hating the danger the young girl was in, and how vulnerable she was. Hurting anyway, she didn’t need this.

“If you put a hand on her, you won’t see the light of day again.” Aaron shouted, his voice unrecognisable, something that only the villains in his life had heard. The phone was bound to explode in his hand by the way he was tightly holding it, gripping it, fingers turning red, Robert removing it, holding it himself, wanting to keep this conversation going on as long as possible, pulling his laptop open on the coffee table, using his skills to begin tracking the call, something he was glad he had taught himself to do.

“Too late for that, we’ve already had a little fun.” They could tell the man was close to Liv, could hear her breath catch in her throat, the boys picturing disturbing images in their minds, something they’d had nightmares about. Whether he had hurt her, or simply tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, they wanted him dead. “Isn’t that right, Olivia?” Her breaths were shaky, she was terrified, and Aaron and Robert couldn’t help but think that this guy must be suicidal. The boys were capable of murder between them, could hurt this man in ways he probably didn’t know what possible, covering up the evidence. “Tell them.” They heard him demand, a sob escaping her lips, knowing now that they could save her, but she had still be hurt, still been a pawn in this chess game, still the thing that they were fighting for. Liv had been scared before, but this was an entirely new level of scared, and without even being with her, they knew the look on her face, the tears in her eyes, the shaky hands gripping onto anything she could find, whilst still trying to put on a brave face, a smart act, a cold façade, and a calm exterior, like she knew what was going on. Like she knew her fate.

“Aaron, please just help-“She begun, being cut off by a bang, a shout, Robert looking up from the laptop screen, darkness in his eyes, showing his husband the location, recognising his husband not looking, just looking at the floor, his eyes burning holes into it, anger bubbling inside of him, knowing his sister had made this guy angry could cost her, her life. But she was a kid, she didn’t know what to do, always came running back to her big brother whenever she was frightened.

“You’re really pushing your luck here.” The aggressive voice on the other end shouted at Liv, a shriek escaping her lips, Robert already heading to the door, car keys in hand, Aaron doing nothing but following, still trying to piece together who they had pissed off, who they had made so angry that they were willing to hurt Liv. 

And then phone call cut off.

Robert turned to look at Aaron, anger inside of him escaping his body, eyes darkening with every second passing. If there was one way you wanted to get to the younger man, to hurt him, your best bet was to hurt his baby sister, to torment her, and tease her, slowly breaking her, tearing her apart. And whoever this was knew that. With the phone still in his hand, Robert dialled his little sister, begging her to come over and watch Seb, not wanting to frighten her with the truth, but not wanting to sound so happy go lucky. He swung the door open, so he could wait for Victoria to get from her house to theirs, stepping back when he was met with the familiar sight of a man that he had pissed off, Aaron’s jaw dropping, adding everything up.

Because before them… was Joe Tate.

Graham in tow, forcing Robert to step backwards, standing beside his husband, the front door slamming as the two biggest game players entered their home, Seb asleep upstairs, and Victoria on her way over, two people the boys also didn’t want to get caught up in whatever this confrontation was. Handing Aaron an iPad, Joe laughed, like he had no remorse for putting a teenage girl’s life in danger. 

On the screen in front of him, Robert’s eyes looking also, was Liv. She was black and blue and bleeding in a dark room, huddled up in the corner, crying, shaking, terrified. Aaron felt sick, handing the iPad to his husband as he reached for the collar of the man, slamming him against the front door, Graham making a move to stop him, but Robert was too quick, standing in the way, determined to let his husband take out all his frustration on Joe’s face, not wanting his babysitter to stop him.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Aaron screamed, trying his hardest to wipe the smug smile off the young man in the suit. “Coming for us is one thing, but you’ve wished for murder touching my little sister.” He growled, slamming him again, even harder, head hitting the glass, smiling at the visible sign of pain the man was expressing, wanting to cause more, desperate to, wanting to kill him.

“Hurting me, and hurting Graham, will only cause Liv to get hurt twice as much.” Joe announced, a scream coming from the iPad on the floor, neither men wanting to watch their little sister get tortured for something they had done, for something they had refused.

“Why are you doing this?” Robert demanded, feeling the heat rise up his chest, letting the exasperation out of his mouth, a growl escaping his lips, hating the fact that he didn’t have the upper hand, didn’t have the control he desired, the drive to kill. Anything he, or Aaron, did to the men in designer suits in front of them could potentially cost Liv her life, something that neither of them wanted to think about, but something they’d have to consider now, in the back of their minds, always.

“You two think you’re the only people who like to play games round here, Sugden. But that’s about to change, and until I get what I want, the longer this will take will break her, we’ll show you just how damaged your precious Olivia will be.” Joe teased, like it was out of a movie, like he thought he was James Bond, cockiness through the roof, but he was about to have some sense knocked into him, if he thought he was going to win.

“And what do you want, Mr Tate?” Aaron asked, a laugh in his voice, but no humour laced behind it, ending it all with a growl, hearing Liv’s screams of pain from the iPad he had dropped on the floor, not wanting to look, knowing that if he did, Joe and Graham would be dead. And that would cost Liv her life as well, the most valuable thing on the line. If something bad ended up happening with her, neither of her brothers would hesitate in killing the people who hurt her. Life imprisonment would be worth the thrill.

“I want your business.” Was the reply, something that made Aaron and Robert laugh, looking at each other, realising how pathetic this was.

“Don’t know if mummy taught you about business, but this isn’t a school playground, you buy shares in the business, we don’t just hand it to you.” Robert bragged, knowing that all Joe would ever be was a little boy who was determined to tear other people down, Graham being the only intimidating part of him. A man who was way too old to be following around a Tate, babying them into being a good person.

A haunting scream wiped the cocky smile off Robert’s face, a sound he’d never forget, Liv being tormented and tortured, being hurt because of them. And when all of this was over, he knew he had plenty of ideas on how to hurt the man in front of him. He was just bitter that he couldn’t keep Debbie entertained, not liking the truth he found when people described his parents, paying people to sleep with him because no one actually wanted to. If he wanted happy families, nice stories of his mum, he wouldn’t have torn down Zac and Lisa’s home. He’s just bitter and jealous that he’ll never get a wife and kids, to sit down and watch the TV together with just like everyone else.

“The longer you talk like that, the worse she’ll be.” Graham spoke.

“So he speaks!” Aaron shouted, turning to face the older man. “Does it make you feel good, huh? Make you feel like the big man, hurting a 16 year old girl, tearing her apart. Are you just bitter because you killed your wife and daughter leaving you so determined to take away our little girl? Our family?” Graham’s face dropped at the words escaping Aaron’s lips. “Oh yeah, Debbie told me all about your little sob story, and how Joe saved you. The whole village will know about your secret if you’re not careful. You wouldn’t live another day the minute that lot find out all about you.” Robert couldn’t help but smile at his husband, now having something to use against the pair besides tearing them down over the route they went down of hurting a teenage girl to gain a business.

Victoria making her way through the front door pulled all four men from the confrontation, turning to look at her worried face, letting herself stare into her brother’s eyes with confusion, noticing the underlying fury he was trying to hide, something she hadn’t seen in a very long time, something he promised her she’d never see again.

“What’s going on?” She asked, not liking the way Joe Tate was currently eyeing her up and down like a piece of meat, seeing the overprotectiveness take over her older brother’s face, feeling a little reassured that nothing would happen if he had anything to do with it, his husband by his side, ready to defend her to her last breath.

“Nothing for you to worry about.” Graham answered, speaking in that annoyingly sinister deep voice, like he was trying too hard to be intimidating, like he was trying to scare her, but really she was trying to conceal the giggles threatening to erupt from her chest, something Robert shook his head at, willing her to obey their unspoken rule, using his eyes to tell her something bigger was going on that she thought. Liv screaming from the tablet on the floor caught her attention, looking down at the screen, hands covering her mouth.

“Is that Liv?” She shouted at all four men, acknowledging Aaron and Robert’s terrified faces, taking in that the 16 year old girl was being used in whatever game was taking place before her.

“Why are you here?” Joe asked her, angry that someone was getting in the way of what he wanted. Robert subtly shook his head at her, determined to not give away the fact that Seb was upstairs, someone even more vulnerable than Liv, silently thanking whoever was up above as he saw her acknowledge it, knowing she’d lie for him, something the Sugden’s did pretty well.

“The heating at mine is making an irritating noise so the boys said I could sleep here before my next shift in the morning, so I’ll leave you to whatever this is.” She announced confidently, making her way up the spiral staircase, eyes glancing at her brother, before making their way to the screen where she could practically see Liv getting torn apart, her broken body lying on the ground, the sound of her crying enough to haunt anyone.

With Victoria out of the way, Joe turned back to Aaron and Robert, determined to get what he wanted quickly so he could leave this all behind, so he could brag about how easy it was to tear down a Sugden, something he could gloat about with Graham, and the small friend he’d found in Jimmy who would probably be angry at the way this situation had been handled, having kids of his own.

“All you’ve got to do is sign over your business and then we’re done here.” He announced, remaining cold hearted, still as stone, a small smirk across his features that made Aaron want to knock the lights out of him.

“So you could potentially kill a teenage girl because you want the scrapyard? This isn’t fucking monopoly” What part even is it going to play in your pathetic golf club?” Aaron questioned, angry, frustrated, ready to murder someone. Liv’s screams were becoming desperate, not as loud, like she was slowly giving up, slowly being broken down, silently pleading his sister to hang on, begging her to get through this.

“All we want you to do is sign your business over, and then we’ll let you have Liv back.” Graham cautioned, watching as the boys let out a cold laugh.

“Let us have Liv back.” Robert repeated, turning to his husband who rolled his eyes at the statement. “How polite of you.”

Joe was clearly getting aggravated and fed up, wanting this to be over, clearly not very good at confrontation, something the boys in front of him silently mocked him for, watching him want to give up with this argument, no longer finding power in Liv’s torturous screams but rather feeling sorry for her, something he hated himself for. He refused to let that show, not wanting to forfeit this game and letting them win.

“Does Joe Tate not even know how business works?” 

The question made all the men freeze, Liv’s broken voice asked as a man in a balaclava walked towards her, a chuckle escaping his lips as he just shook his head, agreeing, not knowing his boss could see or hear him.

Aaron and Robert smirked, looking into Joe’s eyes, proud that through all of the pain, Liv still remained bitter, still remained determined, not giving in despite the hurt she was feeling. She was definitely a Dingle and she was definitely a Sugden, always being able to speak in the most effective ways at the best times, always knowing how to play a game despite not knowing the rules, refusing to let her competitor win. Aaron and Robert had equal parts within her, and this whole other third of her own persona making her someone you did not want to fight with.

“You’re all playing a dangerous game.” Liv spoke again, a hint of something in her voice, neither one of her brothers being able to put their finger on it, before hearing a painful scream erupt from her mouth, sobs beginning again, but still remaining as determined as ever to not give up.

“You may be able to play Jimmy, but you won’t ever be able to play us like that. No matter how hard you try.” Aaron snapped, a little bit of pride for his sister giving him the confidence to carry on, to keep going as long as she could. He refused to lose her, and he refused to lose this argument, refused to hand over everything he worked for because a rich little boy didn’t get what he wanted. 

“I’ll get them to kill her.” Joe competed.

“No you won’t.” Graham reminded him.

“You wouldn’t want to be convicted of murder because you didn’t get a scrapyard. Maybe if you stop hurting her, we can make a deal. But the longer you put her life at risk, the least likely you are to get your hands on any part of it. So, you tell your men to stop, or you walk out of here with nothing but a life sentence in prison on your shoulders.” Robert demanded, smirking when Graham pressed a number into his phone, hearing a phone ring through the iPad, confirming that Liv would no longer get hurt whilst Joe continued this discussion, something that Aaron felt relieved about, knowing that whatever was happening to her wouldn’t go any further. 

“I did what you asked, so sign the business over.” Joe bitterly demanded, arms folded across his chest, a quick glance over to Graham who nodded subtly, before turning back to the faces in front of him. 

As Robert was about to dismiss the command, he stopped, shock taking over his body as the front door flew open, forcing Joe to the floor, and Graham shoved to the side, groans of pain escaping their lips, Aaron’s jaw dropping at the sight of the police before him, looking to arrest the businessmen for their part in hurting Liv. Questioning how they knew, Aaron and Robert glanced up the staircase where the police nodded their heads to, to show Vic, holding Seb, a phone in her hand recording the whole ordeal, a phone call with the police still in action as she held up her mobile, a smile on her face.

“Joseph Tate, I am arresting you on suspicious of grievous bodily harm, assault and battery and fraud. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Do you understand?” A policeman spoke, handcuffing Joe’s arms behind his back, Graham receiving the same treatment for being involved, before the two were lead out of the mill, and towards the awaiting police cars.

“We’re doing everything we can to find Olivia.” The police officer still within the walls reassured the boys, Robert stepping forward to cut him off.

“I traced the original phone call on my laptop.”

“Looking into this case, we have it confirmed that she’s never actually remained in one specific place. We believe she is still in the country, no evidence pointing otherwise, but we’ll question Mr Tate on his knowledge. You should keep your phones on and wait up, hopefully you’ll be hearing from us soon.” He announced, picking up the iPad from the floor before leaving the boys, shutting the door behind him, Victoria already down the stairs, handing over Seb, letting her brother cuddle his son.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. Liv sounded really bad.” She admitted with a shaky voice, tears in her eyes, allowing Aaron to pull her into a hug, reassuring her.

“You did the right thing. Let’s just hope Liv gets back safely.” 

The three of them sat down in the living room, silence overtaking the atmosphere, the only noises were Seb’s gentle snores and heavy breathing, mobile phones on the coffee table, eyes remaining on them, waiting for them to buzz at any moment, desperate to get Liv back, desperate to know she was alright, desperate to hold her and apologise to her for being dragged into this mess, wanting to murder the men who touched her who’d hopefully get long sentences behind bars, along with Joe and Graham.

Staring up at the clock on the wall above the fireplace, they watched it strike 12 am, all knackered from the recent events, but refusing to sleep until they heard something, shaky breaths confirming that. They watched it tick, hour after hour, noticing the sun rising outside their windows, a new day on the horizon, all three of them frustrated because they still hadn’t heard anything, Robert telling his sister to go home, and rest, an offer she took up, making sure they’d ring her as soon as they heard anything.

“Do you want me to take Seb?” She asked, looking down at her nephew fast asleep in his father’s arms, the man nodded, lifting him slightly so she could pick him up, giving the pair sympathetic smiles as she left the boys in the living room, noticing how they had moved to sit closer together as she shut the front door, knowing they were wrapping their arms around each other to let the tears fall, let the anger out, hoping they’d find hope in the body beside them, hoping the other had answers for the questions they were too scared to ask, hoping that there was something within the being beside them that they could latch onto, allowing the comfort of the other person to soothe them, all the emotions being released, like a dam had opened its flood gates, water rising above their walls, tears falling from broken eyes. 

And then at 8:18am, exactly 12 hours after the first ring of Aaron’s phone the previous night, the song played again, the man picking it up, pressing it to his ear, answering it and reminding the people on the other end of the line his name.

“We’ve got her.” Were the three words that Aaron had never been so grateful to hear, a sigh of relief escaping his lips, turning towards Robert, nodding, a grin taking over his husband’s face at the news. “She’s currently in intensive care at Hotten General, but the team there have taken good care of her and she’s stable. They did have to operate, there was some damage to her vital organs which needed immediate attention, but she’s resting, and she’s ready to have visitors, and maybe in a few days, we can speak to her, if she’s feeling up to it, to receive her full statement.” Aaron just agreed, desperate to see his little sister, heartbroken that she had to go through so much on her own. Filling Robert in on the news once the phone call had ended, they headed for the car, speeding out of the village and towards the city.

Placing a paid car ticket in the window of the black Volkswagen, Aaron and Robert reached for each other’s hands, walking towards the revolving door that allowed them into the hospital, making their way to the main reception desk to ask where Liv was. After receiving her location, they set off round the back of the A&E unit, entering the intensive care recovery ward, a nurse already directing them to room, stopping outside, before stepping away to carry on with her job, glancing back at the two men who were standing outside the room, fidgeting, waiting for the other to make the first move of opening the door.

It was Aaron who pushed the handle down, allowing him and Robert access to Liv’s room, their breaths caught in their throats, glazed eyes glancing over her broken body, bruises covering every inch of visible skin, dried blood in places, a sight that would forever be etched into their minds, and tattooed onto their hearts. She looked small, but peaceful, the noises of the machines around her confirming that her heartrate was fine, her blood pressure a little bit low, but she had come out of it alive, and that was the only thing that mattered to the both of them.

They sat down in the two seats beside her bed, Aaron immediately reaching across for Liv’s tiny hand, engulfing it in his own, protecting it, placing a soft kiss to her knuckles, watching her fingers move slightly, a sign that she could hear them, a sign that she was waking up. The three of them were way too familiar with hospitals, that this was something they were sure on. Liv’s blue eyes blinked open, taking in the sights around her, her gaze falling upon the men sat beside her. It took her awhile to recognise them, snatching her hand back towards her, clearly terrified that she was still with the men that had hurt her, but then she noticed the eyes of her brother, his husband at his side, the two standing up so she could get a better look at them, a soft smile appearing on her face.

“Liv, I am so sorry.” Robert spat out, watching as she let out a laugh, rolling her eyes at him, letting her personality sneak through her veins, releasing it through the cuts on her skin, her aura taking over the small room, a sense of relief and reassurance filling her brothers’ hearts.

“Shut up, it wasn’t your fault you twat.” She breathed out, trying her best to conceal the grunt of pain, but failing, realising now how hurt she was, how much her skin burned at a single touch, how every movement felt like she was being slammed against a brick wall, or like she was being hit by a bus. She was confused how she had even made it out alive, how she had even survived the continuous torture. Even she had to admit that she was impressed with herself.

“I’m glad you’re safe now, though.” Robert smiled, watching her breathe a sigh of relief, clearly feeling the same.

Aaron made the next move, reaching over to brush her hair out of her face, pressing his lips to the stitches above her left eyebrow, like he wanted to kiss them better, wanted to take away the pain she was feeling. She shut her eyes at the touch, finding comfort in it, pressing her cheek against the hand he had rested against her face, his thumb softly stroking the bruised skin.

“We’ve got you now.” He whispered, watching her body slowly relax, watching her fall asleep, happy that the night was over, and a new day was here, a new life. A life where Liv would never be out of sight, out of mind. She was safe, she was home, and she was with them, she was theirs. And despite the guilt that washed over the pair, the sight before them was enough to erase their fears, erase the anger they felt, because Liv was in front of them, alive, stronger than anyone gave her credit for. Inheriting equal parts of her brothers, but allowing her own being to outweigh all of that, having more strength than the two of them put together, having more willpower than people dreamed of.

Liv was safe, but the next time either Aaron or Robert saw Joe Tate, he was going to wish he had never been born.


End file.
